What scares me most: Explaining to my children why I let Bush happen.

[KyuzoGator]

I think about this all the time. Years from now, I have no idea how I'm going to explain to my children and grandchildren why the American people sat back and let this criminal drive the country I love so much into a ditch.

I hate to sound so pessimistic, but this really bothers me. I'm not sure we're going to recover as a nation.

[Teaser]

1. you didn't let him happen

I take no responsibility for this mess.

[KyuzoGator]

3. But we blame the Germans for allowing Hitler to come to power.

Even the ones who muttered under their breath about how stupid or reckless Hitler was. After the war was over, nobody in Germany owned up to ever supporting the Nazis.

[mzmolly]

6. You have an excellent point.

The only saving grace might be Bush leaving in shame after impeaching him for his crimes. At least we can then say "America held him accountable."

[noonwitch]

8. Well, for what it's worth, Bush hasn't started rounding up large groups

of american citizens for racial or political reasons and exterminating them. At least not yet. Even with non-citizens-no government agency is parking large trucks in Dearborn and rounding up non-citizen arabs.

The prisons abuses at Gitmo and in Iraq are shameful and should be stopped. That said, there are a whole lot of american convicted felons in prison who are treated worse.

What Bush & CO have done is made it possible for some of those nightmare things to happen, with the Patriot Act and the NSA wiretap program.

[RazzleDazzle]

9. Hmmm. Perhaps you weren't watching the aftermath of Katrina

Lotta people rather purposely "exterminated" during that -- lotta people left to drown or die trapped in their attics, for instance. Or left without food and water in "shelters" like the SuperDome and COnvention Center. Meanwhile, FEMA and other "authorities" turned back help in waves and waves and waves -- unofficial folks with help like flotillas of their own boats, or volunteer EMT folks, and official folks offered that was refused like what Mayor Daley offered or Gov. Richardson.

The prisons abuses at Gitmo and in Iraq are shameful and should be stopped. That said, there are a whole lot of american convicted felons in prison who are treated worse.

Worse? Oh, I definitely want to see some support for such a claim, because from where I sit, that's either a horrific dismissal of what goes on at Gitmo or an unbelievable claim about what goes on in our prisons, which I know aren't pleasant, but calling them all across the board "worse" that Gitmo is quite a stretch. For one thing, they aren't routinely and repeatedly tortured for information they don't even have.

[Teaser]

10. I don't.

Maybe others do.

[DavidDvorkin]

16. Not all of us do

I don't blame those Germans who genuinely opposed Hitler. Nor do I say they should have been out in the streets marching against the Nazis. It's unfair to demand heroism and self-sacrifice, and I don't demand it.

[Greeby]

2. Maybe tell them he wouldn't stop terroizing the nation until he got what

he wanted. In fascism, words like "allow" and "let it happen" don't come in to it, you don't have a choice in the matter

[liberal N proud]

4. Did you get involved in 2000 and or 2004?

If you did, then you did everything you could to try and stop these monsters.

But their dirty tricks could not be over come.

[leveymg]

5. Nobody expects you to get yourself killed or imprisoned.

Just make sure you keep a copy for the family album of your opposition postings and snaps of the demonstrations we're all going to be attending together.

We're all doing what we can.

[Maat]

7. I'm betting you didn't 'let it happen.'

We couldn't predict the future back then, and how extensive their political machine was, or how stupid their base was. I can say, 'stupid,' because people that had historically appeared to be rather intelligent to me CHOSE to be ignorant and to remain ignorant (and vote according to what their bought-off church articulated).

6 years of people choosing to be ignorant; I'm getting VERY discouraged (and I'm an optimist).

[seabeyond]

11. i have the opportunity to teach my children as it happens.

it allows them to understand the whole, and much easier. let them recognize our failures as a society and what we really want as a people. a lesson to be had

[Tyler Durden]

12. We're largely Socialists in my house.

We take a longer view of history.

In fact, my 15 year old daughter said to me the other day: "What the Hell. Maybe Bush was necessary to get the next stage in political evolution started."

What a kid.

[FreedomAngel82]

13. I have thought about this a couple of times myself and

this is why I document and save everything I can on data discs. So someday when I have children and they're learning about this time frame in history clsas I have everything on data discs to show them. And of course I have books too.

[geniph]

14. Dammit, what we did here in this state WORKED!

My state did not vote for that little scumbag either time. We did our part here. I refuse to take the heat for that asshole squatting in the White House.

[Lisa]

15. your kids may grow up a lot faster (there are pros and cons to that ...)

On the "con" side -- young children tend to believe that the grownups will make things come out all right, no matter what has gone wrong. (For example, my friend's 2-year-old has had the most dreadful cold this week ... the sore throat, congestion, and disorientation are bad enough, but because it's her first time, that she thinks that it will go on like this forever. However, all it takes to make her feel happy is for her daddy to come home with ice cream!)

It can be scary for kids to learn that the grownups can't always fix things. However, on the plus side, they may also decide that it is their responsibility to do something about it.